1. Field of the Invention
Methods and systems for education and cognitive-skill training, and more particularly, methods and systems that provide search-based education and cognitive-skill training.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A great deal of attention has been devoted to increasing the effectiveness of educational material, for example, by providing material and activities that a trainee (e.g., a student) finds fun and interesting to encourage their participation. General approaches that are currently employed to provide material that students find fun include asking students to locate hidden items. In one approach, items are hidden under a flap located on pages of a children's book. A reader may look for a specific item on the page under the flap. In some other books, readers do not overturn flaps but simply look for objects hidden in figures appearing on the pages of the book.
In another approach, a book provides clues that the reader solves (e.g., a treasure hunt). The search, however, does not occur within the book. Instead, the clues are removed from the book and are hidden around a home in hiding places associated with each clue.
Some books provide a treasure hunt within a book. In one form of a treasure hunt book, rhyming text concerns an item in a picture that is displayed along with the text. The reader identifies the item in the picture and then turns to the next page of the book to repeat the process for a different item. Other books provide instructions concerning how to create your own treasure hunt for participants. Also, short stories for children often provide plots that include a treasure hunt.
Another type of children's book allows a reader to adapt fictional stories based on the reader's decisions concerning the actions of a main character. For example, the reader decides on the main character's next act and then turns to the pages with the story elements resulting from the selected act. Thus, two readers may read two versions of the same story depending on their selection of acts. Also, a single reader may read a different version by selecting different acts when reading the book a second time.